Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 1152 Governing the country according to law and educating the people with morality

During the historical period from the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, ancient Chinese law has always called the act of depriving others of their freedom and putting them in a state of slavery by means of violence or fraud as "lueren", and the act of selling a slightly obtained population is called "lueren". "Slightly sell people".

In the "Law of Stealing" in the early Western Han Dynasty, the punishment was extremely severe: as long as there is an act of "looting others", no matter whether they have been sold or not, they will be punished with "pound punishment"; those who know how to buy are "same crimes"; "Tattoo is a Chengdan pound", and the buyer who later finds out about it will be punished in the same way.

The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, and many laws of the Han Dynasty probably came directly from the Qin Law, which is a manifestation of the harsh punishment policy advocated by the Legalists, which is somewhat too harsh.

However, with the evolution of the times, the punishment for the behavior of "selling people slightly" has gradually been reduced. One hundred sticks, three thousand li.

These are the provisions of the law, but these are a set of regulations made by the ruling class in order to rule the bottom people. They can only deal with some small thieves who traffic people, but they don't have much effect on powerful families who rob people's women. binding.

The behavior of this group of people in front of them obviously did not conform to the laws of the Ming Dynasty and violated the law. However, in addition to the laws of the court, the Ming Dynasty also had its own rules among the people. Some clans even had their own patriarchal laws. The court also acquiesced in setting up the punishment hall.

For example, people who commit adultery are directly immersed in pig cages, such as stealing and beating to death directly, and the father's debt is paid by the son, and the matter of pulling a wife and daughter to pay off the debt, in the eyes of the people, it is mostly a matter of course, and the people do not think that this violates the criminal law. , The government is too lazy to intervene, and the affairs in the countryside are mostly handled by the gentry and elders, and the power of the government does not go to the countryside. This has been a rule for thousands of years.

Repaying debts is a matter of course. Men run away and take their wives and daughters to pay off debts. Although the behavior is disgusting, the people can still accept this method of handling, because the weaker party is not qualified to challenge the rules set by the powerful.

This kind of gray behavior must have existed widely in the entire Ming Dynasty, but Wang Yan did not allow him to happen in Nanjing, nor did he allow the Wude Chamber of Commerce to abide by the laws.

As the person in power, he naturally knows that these gray things exist, and the administrative agencies of the entire Ming Dynasty can't control so much, but as the person in power, as the court, he must clearly oppose and crack down on such gray behaviors. Otherwise, if the highest ruler does not object, then this kind of gray behavior and hidden rules will become more unscrupulous and legal by default, the real law will be further trampled on, and the people at the bottom will despair of the government.

It's one thing to take care of it, but it's another matter whether you have an attitude and want to take care of it or not.

Wang Yan hoped to establish a strong central government and bring back to the imperial court the step-by-step power held by the gentry and tyrants, especially prohibiting the use of lynching by the people.

"Your Highness, Wudehao lends money to the people and provides funds to some businessmen to open workshops or conduct trade. These firms have losses and profits. After making a profit, Wudehao will naturally benefit. If it loses money, Wudehao will sell Loan recovery!" Mrs. Wang took a step forward and said in Wang Yan's ear: "The matter of recovering loans is very complicated. Some people even refuse to pay back the money. The firm doesn't have so much energy to entangle these people, so apart from going through the government In addition to collecting debts, the firm will also hand over some difficult-to-recover dead debts to some private gangs for them to recover on their behalf, and the recovered money will be distributed with the gangs according to the agreement. .”

Wang Fuzhi is not only a big brother of the Chu faction, but also a member of the Wang family. Seeing Wang Yan's angry face, he was afraid that he would anger Wu Dehao, so he came out and said a few words that seemed fair, but actually opened up the company.

Wang Yan frowned, and gave a miserable smile, "Then the Wudehao only makes money and doesn't lose money, it only takes benefits, and it doesn't take any risks."

From Wang Fuzhi's words, Wang Yan knew that the top management of the chamber of commerce must know something about the situation of debt collection, but they selectively ignored it.

Tang, Lu, and many ministers could not understand Wang Yan, and there was a reason for it. It is said that it is too easy to make money with the five virtues.

The bank lends money to the businessman, the businessman earns money, Wu Dehao wants to take the money, and the businessman loses money, and immediately sends a lawsuit to the yamen to pay off the businessman's assets.

There are many people who also want to enter the bank industry, but most of them lose their money and have no background. The lawsuit is handed over to the yamen, but the officials delay it. After several times, the bank collapses.Even if there is a background, some banks can only be limited to a certain province or a certain area. How can it be compared with the influence of the Wudehao all over the country? Who would dare not return the money from the King of Chu?Which yamen dare not help to recover?
After listening to Wang Fuzhi's words, Wang Yan already understood what he meant. The Wu De Hao cannot be moved, and this matter cannot be blamed on the Wu De Hao.

The ruling class can make money so fast and so easily, and it’s just like this that they can make a steady profit without losing money. It’s the same for anyone who changes it. It’s impossible for Wang Yan to say that he won’t allow Wudehao to take back the loan. After all, Wudehao is not his family. Yes, it doesn't matter what he said, but he has to take care of this method of debt collection.

If he all acquiesces to this method of debt collection, the hearts of the world will sooner or later be scattered.

The leader in charge of debt collection is nicknamed Zhao Wu. After he reported his family name, he saw Wang Yan's face change, and saw an old man next to him persuading him. He thought that guy originally wanted to be a hero, but after hearing the name of Wu De , was very frightened, and after the old man tried to persuade him, he didn't know how to end it, so his face turned red.

Seeing this, Zhao Wu sneered, but he didn't say anything to ridicule Wang Yan. After all, Nanjing is no more than other places. There are as many officials as dogs. If a brick hits it, it can hit the relatives of two Beijing officials. He went to Nanjing alone. The little leader of the gang who is begging for a living doesn't dare to go anywhere with arrogance.

"Take him away!" Zhao Wu decided to ignore Wang Yan and take him back to meet business.

A few strong men are about to pull people, it's because they didn't read the almanac, they are destined to be unlucky today.

In fact, in Nanjing City, they were not the only ones who helped the bank collect debts like them, but they were unlucky to be bumped into by Wang Yan.

As soon as the strong men made a move, the woman immediately screamed again. Wang Yan reacted immediately, and immediately ordered: "Arrest all these people who robbed the women of the people and turn them over to the government!"

The surrounding guards came out immediately, Zhao Wu didn't intend to provoke Wang Yan and his party, but Wang Yan was so aggressive that he wanted to send them off.

For a while, Zhao Wu and his party were also angry!

Mom sells batches, we have been rampant in Nanjing for a long time, taking advantage of the reputation of the Wudehao, it is fine not to provoke others, but someone took the initiative to provoke us, do you really think we are good citizens?
"Fuck you, I can't beat you to death!" The strong men, who had disliked Wang Yan before, heard that Wang Yan was going to send them to the government, and immediately rolled up their sleeves, trying to beat him out of the shit Come.

Zhao Wu does not cause trouble, nor is he afraid of trouble. He saw a man approaching him and wanted to take him, so he immediately put on a posture and prepared to teach these grandchildren a lesson, so that they would know that Brother Zhao Wu on Tongluo Street has a great reputation. When the man stepped forward, a token was delivered directly to his eyes. Zhao Wu saw the big characters Jin Yiwei on it, and his body froze immediately. Beads of sweat rolled down his face, and his legs trembled uncontrollably.

"Your Highness, you can save them for a while, but you can't save them for a lifetime, and the debts must be repaid!" Wang Fuzhi said.

Wang Yan looked at him but said: "Brother, do you still remember what I said last time? The world has people's hearts, and it's too late to clean up now. Don't wait until the party and the country are destroyed to regret it!"

"It's moral to pay back debts, but you can't drive people to a dead end. The imperial court has its own laws, so how can you allow the ruffians to enforce the law on behalf of the imperial court!" Wang Yan said in a deep voice: "I think the laws of the Ming Dynasty need to be repaired and supplemented. Only by governing the country according to the law and educating the people with virtue can the world be stable!"

Gu Yanwu who was at the side frowned when he heard Wang Yan's words, "I agree with what your Highness said, ruling the country according to the law and educating the people with virtue are really the words of a sage!"

The Ming Dynasty promoted the study of the mind, and the thought of the study of the mind abandoned many of the rules and regulations of Neo Confucianism, and emphasized the inner pursuit of holiness, but everyone’s heart is different, so what is right and what is wrong cannot be unified, so the thinking is open, but It can also cause many problems.If one sets out a set of laws and regulations as the basic standard while seeking holiness in one's heart, it will undoubtedly be of great benefit to the country.

This is a combination of Confucianism and Legalism, one to control the people and one to rule the world.

When the few big men saw the badges, they immediately confessed obediently. They were bullies in the city of Nanjing, but when they met the Jinyiwei of the imperial court, they still didn't like it enough, and they didn't even dare to resist.

Wang Yan's identity has almost been exposed. He saw that the people around him had already seen him, and many people could still recognize Wang Yan after looking carefully.

In order to avoid causing trouble, Wang Yan immediately turned around and said to Wang Fuzhi: "Brother, I want to see Chen Yonghua tonight, please let him come to the palace."

In the early morning of the next day, at Nanjing Wharf, Gao Yihuan's family, plus more than a dozen men, boarded a cargo ship early in the morning. They entered the cabin only to find that there was no cargo in the ship, and it was actually full of abject poverty from families who had lost their jobs.

(End of this chapter)